Gabriela Bohm's The Longing: The Forgotten Jews of South America had its world premiere in January at the New York Jewish Film Festival, presented by The Jewish Museum and Film Society of Lincoln Center. The film tells the story of a small group of South Americans who long to affirm their faith. Their ancestors--European Jews--were forced to convert during the Spanish Inquisition. Isolated in Catholic countries, rejected by local Jewish communities, they battle to become Jews regardless of the consequences. After studying with an American rabbi over the Internet, they meet him in Ecuador to complete their conversion. Lost no more, the new converts' dreams are fulfilled, yet they face an uncertain future.

Court TV began principal photography on the nonfiction series Suburban Secrets, which covers crime stories that take place behind the white picket fences of suburbia. The show examines what happens when a small town is rocked by a scandal and reveals the scars it leaves behind. Slated to premiere in first quarter 2007, the 15-episode, half-hour series is produced in association with Sirens Media (Rebecca Toth Diefenbach and Valerie Haselton, partners) and will be shot in various US locations through February 2007.

Carole Lee Dean's From the Heart Productions, dedicated to funding films that are "unique and make a contribution to society," is pleased to announce that Christie Davis and Dennis Davis have won the 2006 Roy W. Dean LA Video Grant for their documentary feature Women at War: Voices of Female Gulf War Veterans. The film, currently in production, takes an intimate look at women soldiers' wartime experiences during 1991's Desert Storm and their battles with Gulf War illnesses since they've returned home.

Nancy Dubuc, senior vice president for nonfiction programming and new media at A&E Network, succeeded outgoing History Channel president Dan Davids in January, taking the title of executive VP and general manager of the channel. Dubuc, who oversaw program development for both The History Channel and A&E, was a rising star at the company after fostering programs such as Dog the Bounty Hunter and Intervention for A&E. She will also oversee History International, History Channel en Espanol and Military History Channel.

Cinematographer Nick Higgins' documentary The McCombie Way just won an ITVS/Independent Lens award. The film is being featured at /www.pbs.org/independentlens/insideindies/shortsfest/. 

Brigid Kelly produced and co-directed the documentary Charlie's Lake with Matthew Lawton. Beginning in May, the film will begin airing on local stations throughout the United States through a distribution deal with APT Exchange.

John Keltonic recently scored the PBS children's series Zoofari, a fun new show about animals. Says Keltonic, "The program includes lots of world rhythms (even some chanting in the background), some light-hearted comedy and even a little musical goofiness." He also worked on the PBS film Code Blue: Lung Cancer, a compassionate look at a serious subject. He describes his score for this piece "almost all solo piano, very sparse and evocative." www.jdkmusic.com.

Joan Meyerson received a 2007 Writers Guild Award nomination in the Comedy/Variety--Music, Awards, Tributes, Specials category, for The National Memorial Day Concert. Other IDA members receiving Writers Guild Award nods include Carl Byker for FRONTLINE: The Meth Epidemic (PBS), in the Documentary--Current Events category, and David Grubin for Marie Antoinette (PBS), in the Documentary--Other Than Current Events category.

Guy Perrotta and Charles Clemmons' documentary film Mystic Voices: The Story of the Pequot War is in current broadcast release to public television stations across the USA through American Public Television. Mystic Voicestells the story of the 1636-1637 conflict between the Pequot Tribe and the Puritan English colonists in Connecticut and Massachusetts and their Mohegan and Narragansett allies. The documentary, which was selected for the Rhode Island International Film Festival and Film Fest New Haven, was nominated for four NTA Emmy Awards. Perrotta and Clemmons received two Emmys for Best Documentary and Best Writing. Video/DVD distribution is through the Cinema Guild. www.pequotwar.com.

Barbara Rick and her husband, cameraman Jim Anderson, recently returned from an amazing shoot in South Africa. They accompanied author Deborah Santana and her husband, legendary guitarist Carlos Santana, on their family's historic delegation there with ANSA (Artists for a New South Africa). While on the trip, Rick and Anderson captured their journey on their new Hi-Def Panasonic HVX-200 and on the Panasonic DVX100A for the Santana family archives, ANSA and a possible film for broadcast. The trip took Rick and Anderson from busy Johannesburg to scenic Cape Town to Durban, and all the way north through KwaZulu-Natal to Ingwavuma near the border with Swaziland--a village routed by AIDS and poverty. The couple met Archbishop Desmond Tutu at his 75th birthday party and had the honor of a Sunday morning visit with the great Nelson Mandela. Additional delegates included Samuel L. Jackson and his wife, LaTanya Richardson, and daughter, Zöe; Alfre Woodard and Roderick Spencer; CCH Pounder and Boubacar Kone; Kitsaun King and Gregory Robinson; Jurnee Smollett; Salvador and Angelica Santana; and ANSA's Sharon Gelman, among others.

William Savage's first feature-length documentary, Klunkerz, premiered at the Mill Valley Film Festival in October. The two scheduled screenings sold out even before tickets went on sale to the public, and a third screening had to be added. Savage's film, which takes an in-depth look at the history of the modern mountain bike, was the surprise hit of the festival. The film also screened at the X-Dance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. www.klunkerz.com. 

Chris Sheridan and Patty Kim's ABDUCTION The Megumi Yokota Story opened in New York City on January 12, 2007, at the Cinema Village theaters. A special gala preview was held at the United Nations, where the film was shown to diplomats, journalists and special guests. The film documents the kidnapping of a 13-year-old Japanese girl by North Korean spies in 1977, and her parents' efforts to try to bring her home. The documentary, which was fiscally sponsored by the IDA and which screened at the 2006 DocuWeek^TM, has won six awards at festivals and received critical praise across the board. ABDUCTION The Megumi Yokota Story is produced in association with the BBC and with the assistance of Fuji TV. The executive producer is Jane Campion, the Oscar-winning director of The Piano. www.abductionfilm.com.

Doug Whyte, organizer of the 2007 International Documentary Challenge, reports that Hot Docs has come on board as the presenting partner and will hold the theatrical premiere of the finalists at the festival in April.

Jon Wilkman's documentary With Heart and Hand: The Restoration of the Gamble House was featured on KCET in December 2006. The one-hour film traces the six-year effort to conserve and restore one of the masterpieces of American Arts & Crafts architecture. An author as well as a filmmaker, Wilkman and his wife Nancy's latest book was recently published. Picturing Los Angeles, a lavishly illustrated history of Los Angeles, features over 560 photographs.